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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 15, 2018 16:59:28 GMT
Hello, so I'm a van lifer and have three Renogy panels with a Renogy battery, controller, and inverter. For some reason I do not get consistent 12 V output to my appliances. Is there a way to fix this? I'm a software developer that knows nothing about hardware and electricity Please let me know if you have any suggestions or things to check out! Thank you!
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Post by jsb2000 on Oct 15, 2018 18:05:11 GMT
A few questions for you:
How "inconsistent" is the 12VDC output (what degree of fluctuation are you seeing)?
What problems are occurring because of that inconsistency?
Are you getting this fluctuation from the output of the controller, from the batteries, or from the inverter (please tell me you aren't getting the 12V after converting 12V to 120VAC and then back to 12V again)?
I might have a few suggestions, but they'd depend on the answers you supply.
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Post by tattoo on Oct 15, 2018 22:00:01 GMT
How many and what type batteries do you have? What size inverter do you have? Do you have anything running off of 120v ac?
So many questions so little information...
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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 15, 2018 22:34:35 GMT
So, by inconsistent I mean that it used to be hovering around 13V almost every time I looked at it. Now it is fluctuating between 11 and 12.4. The battery % has been under half full all day now despite the panels being under direct sunlight all day.
Effects: the small fridge I have wired up is no longer working. Planning on testing to make sure nothing is wrong with the fridge.
All Renogy Battery: AGM12-200 (only one battery) Inverter: 1000W pure-sine wave inverter Controller: Voyager 12 volt 20 amp
I hope that answers everything.
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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 15, 2018 22:38:51 GMT
Basically everything was installed around 3.5 months ago. These are the first issues I'm having with output.
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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 15, 2018 22:43:14 GMT
My first guess was that the output is not currently enough to power the fridge (everything else works). Could it just be a fuse?
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Post by tattoo on Oct 15, 2018 23:00:35 GMT
Ok forget about the % SOC it means nothing..... If you have only had your system for 3.5 months you haven't gone into winter sun yet have you? It's lower in the sky so it's not going to charge like it does in the summer......
Is the fridge AC or DC?? Do you have a Kill A Watt meter? What else do you have running off of your solar system...
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Post by bupkis on Oct 16, 2018 0:15:59 GMT
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Post by Admin on Oct 16, 2018 8:13:22 GMT
My first guess was that the output is not currently enough to power the fridge (everything else works). Could it just be a fuse? Did you experience these problems after the fridge installation? -Renogy Team
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Post by jsb2000 on Oct 16, 2018 12:55:55 GMT
So, by inconsistent I mean that it used to be hovering around 13V almost every time I looked at it. Now it is fluctuating between 11 and 12.4. The battery % has been under half full all day now despite the panels being under direct sunlight all day. Effects: the small fridge I have wired up is no longer working. Planning on testing to make sure nothing is wrong with the fridge. All Renogy Battery: AGM12-200 (only one battery) Inverter: 1000W pure-sine wave inverter Controller: Voyager 12 volt 20 amp I hope that answers everything. Okay. Based on that information I'd wager that you haven't been supplying enough solar energy to charge your batteries. Instead, you've only been making barely enough to offset the fridge usage during the day and depleting the battery the rest of the time. You haven't really been "charging" the battery...at best you've been supplying a surface charge. The voltages you're seeing from the battery now indicate that it's dead or nearly dead. The fridge isn't working because there isn't enough power left to run it. You have to increase the amount of solar power you're bringing in (more time in the sun, more panels, panels with a higher power output), decrease the load on the battery (run the loads for less time, switch to more energy efficient appliances), or both. You may also need to replace the battery if you've depleted it to the point of damage.
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Post by tattoo on Oct 16, 2018 13:11:24 GMT
Hello, so I'm a van lifer and have three Renogy panels with a Renogy battery, controller, and inverter. I think you have a problem with your CC or panels or connections.... Or all of the items mentioned.......
What size panels do you have? They should be small since you have only a 20a CC...........
3 panels should be enough for one battery... Depending on your draw....
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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 16, 2018 14:34:26 GMT
So, by inconsistent I mean that it used to be hovering around 13V almost every time I looked at it. Now it is fluctuating between 11 and 12.4. The battery % has been under half full all day now despite the panels being under direct sunlight all day. Effects: the small fridge I have wired up is no longer working. Planning on testing to make sure nothing is wrong with the fridge. All Renogy Battery: AGM12-200 (only one battery) Inverter: 1000W pure-sine wave inverter Controller: Voyager 12 volt 20 amp I hope that answers everything. Okay. Based on that information I'd wager that you haven't been supplying enough solar energy to charge your batteries. Instead, you've only been making barely enough to offset the fridge usage during the day and depleting the battery the rest of the time. You haven't really been "charging" the battery...at best you've been supplying a surface charge. The voltages you're seeing from the battery now indicate that it's dead or nearly dead. The fridge isn't working because there isn't enough power left to run it. You have to increase the amount of solar power you're bringing in (more time in the sun, more panels, panels with a higher power output), decrease the load on the battery (run the loads for less time, switch to more energy efficient appliances), or both. You may also need to replace the battery if you've depleted it to the point of damage. I have three 100 W panels. If I add one more 100W would that pretty much solve it? The issues did not happen immediately after installing the fridge, they started after installing a fuse box and some additional fuses for the battery per Renogy recommendation. I live in Southern California, so I don't think winter sun will affect me as much as in other parts of the country. Either way, I'm going to leave it in the sun all day today and not draw from it. Hopefully it'll charge up with just the three panels.
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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 16, 2018 14:36:34 GMT
*************** How do I know if I have depleted it to the point of damage?
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Post by bupkis on Oct 16, 2018 16:04:26 GMT
'I'm going to leave it in the sun all day today and not draw from it. Hopefully it'll charge up with just the three panels. ' try 2-3 days. Fully charged is getting the big A battery to 14.4v and holding it there for hours while the charge current tapers to a very low level. In the future you want to FULLY charge at a min of once a week, more often is better. as for amount of sun vs time of year, assuming flat horizontal panels: One can use these daily average solar irradiance to estimate how much power your 3 x 5A solar panels might produce different times of year, you need to make more than you use! so you can FULLY recharge your battery for long battery life.
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Post by Van Lifer on Oct 16, 2018 16:48:04 GMT
'I'm going to leave it in the sun all day today and not draw from it. Hopefully it'll charge up with just the three panels. ' try 2-3 days. Fully charged is getting the big A battery to 14.4v and holding it there for hours while the charge current tapers to a very low level. In the future you want to FULLY charge at a min of once a week, more often is better. as for amount of sun vs time of year, assuming flat horizontal panels: One can use these daily average solar irradiance to estimate how much power your 3 x 5A solar panels might produce different times of year, you need to make more than you use! so you can FULLY recharge your battery for long battery life. Thank you for the info! We had one day of rain so that seems to be what threw everything off since I haven't been fully charging it. I'll be sure to fully charge over the next few days.
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